This invention relates to an apparatus which is used for transportation of particulate materials particularly seeds and fertilizer for use in a seeding operation.
Devices of this type are well known and comprise two containers each of which is rectangular in plan view with the containers being connected along one common side wall. Each of the containers has a hopper bottom so that the particulate material within the container collects towards the hopper bottom for discharge.
Conventionally devices of this type include a pair of augers for discharging the material from the hopper bottom. Each auger is mounted within the container and extends from a feed end of the auger flight at the hopper bottom generally upwardly and toward one corner of the container so that the auger tube exits from the container through an upper cover wall of the container. Conventionally the augers are inclined toward the common joining wall of the containers so that the discharge spout of each of the augers is arranged at one side of the containers above the common joining wall of the containers but is approximately at the mid point along the length of the structure.
The containers are mounted on a suitable frame structure so that the whole unit as an integral structure can be mounted upon a flat bed truck or within a truck box with the auger discharge spouts arranged at one side of the truck box and at a position approximately mid way along the length of the truck box.
Drill fill devices have been available for approximately ten years and the two discharge augers have conventionally always been arranged at this location and this arrangement has been found to be entirely satisfactory.
Generally the device is used by driving the truck alongside the seed drill or other equipment to be filled and then by connecting the discharge spout of the auger to the hopper on the seed drill. In some cases, however, this is becoming difficult in view of different configurations of equipment which are recently being employed.
A modified arrangement is shown in Canadian Patent 1,264,151 issued Jan. 22, 1990 in which the auger of a first one of the hoppers is modified so that it extends along the inside surface of the hopper bottom wall of the first hopper toward the common side wall between the two hoppers. It then extends through a tube formed in the second hopper passing from the common side wall to the cover wall of the second hopper. In this way, both augers emerge from the cover wall of the second hopper and are arranged adjacent one corner of the whole unit. This provides an improved configuration of the discharge spouts for use with particular configuration of seeding machines to be filled.